Workshop
In April 2025, the Board on Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sensory Sciences of the National Academies of Sciences Engineering, and Medicine convened a workshop to explore best practices for implementation and evaluation of suicide prevention grants programs. Presenters and participants discussed non-clinical community-based programs intended to mitigate the impacts of social determinants of health on suicide risk. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussion of the workshop.
142 pages
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6 x 9
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paperback
ISBN Paperback: 0-309-99520-5
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-99521-3
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/29215
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2025. Development, Implementation, and Evaluation of Community-Based Suicide Prevention Grants Programs: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Workshop_in_brief
Empathy and compassion shape how people build relationships, care for one another, and respond to suffering. Yet, the biological mechanisms that underlie these traits and their influence on brain health are not fully understood.
The National Academies Forum on Neuroscience and Nervous System Disorders, in collaboration with the Board on Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sensory Sciences, convened a two-day virtual workshop in May 2025 to explore the underlying neurobiology of empathy and compassion; consider the influence of social interactions, psychological states, and the environment; and explore how this knowledge may be harnessed to treat brain disorders and foster human well-being. This Proceedings of a Workshop-in Brief outlines presentations and discussions that occurred during the workshop, including perspectives from individuals with lived experience, neuroscientists, and health care professionals, including psychologists.
15 pages
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8.5 x 11
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ISBN Ebook: 0-309-60034-0
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/29238
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2025. Unraveling the Neurobiology of Empathy and Compassion: Implications for Treatments for Brain Disorders and Human Well-Being: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Consensus
Breastfeeding supports lifelong health and development for both infants and mothers. It is associated with lower risks of chronic disease, improved maternal health outcomes, and potential health care cost savings. While most families in the United States begin breastfeeding, many are unable to continue as long as they intend due to systemic challenges such as limited parental leave, inconsistent access to lactation support, and inadequate workplace accommodations.
The report Breastfeeding in the United States: Strategies to Support Families and Achieve National Goals provides a roadmap for helping families meet their breastfeeding goals and improving population-level outcomes. It emphasizes the need for strong federal coordination, comprehensive health care and community-based support, and inclusive public policies. Using a life course perspective, the report identifies key intervention points that begin before birth and continue through the return to work or school.
To meet national breastfeeding objectives and improve health equity, the report recommends expanding effective community-based interventions, improving access to high-quality care, enacting supportive policies such as paid family leave, and investing in coordinated research. With sustained leadership and investment, families across the country can have the support they need to achieve their infant feeding goals and help the nation move closer to reaching the Healthy People 2030 targets.
280 pages
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6 x 9
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paperback
ISBN Paperback: 0-309-99192-7
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-99190-0
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/29118
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2025. Breastfeeding in the United States: Strategies to Support Families and Achieve National Goals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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As scientific problems grow more complex and interdisciplinary, the need for effective, collaborative, and context-sensitive research teams has never been greater. The Science and Practice of Team Science presents an updated, evidence-based roadmap for supporting science teams across a wide variety of domains, disciplines, and organizational structures.
This new report from the National Academies builds on a decade of learning since the landmark Enhancing the Effectiveness of Team Science report. It examines how evolving forces - including digital innovation, global disruptions, and the rise of virtual collaboration - are reshaping the way scientific teams form, function, and deliver results. From small interdisciplinary groups to large-scale, distributed multiteam systems, today's science teams require flexible strategies tailored to their goals, environments, and challenges.
The Science and Practice of Team Science outlines adaptable practices that enhance team dynamics and productivity across all phases of research - from development to implementation to translation. These include the use of team charters, psychological safety, communication strategies, and project management. This report also emphasizes the role of technology in enabling collaboration while cautioning that tools must be intentionally deployed to support accessibility, training, and integration with workflows.
268 pages
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6 x 9
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paperback
ISBN Paperback: 0-309-73441-X
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-73442-8
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/29043
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2025. The Science and Practice of Team Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD), a collection of neurodegenerative conditions, take a heavy physical, emotional, and financial toll on individuals, families, and communities. Developing effective strategies for preventing and treating these conditions, which impact millions of people in the United States, is one of the most pressing needs in biomedical research today. The National Institutes of Health has invested billions of dollars in this research, which has led to numerous scientific advances over the last decade. However, the pace of progress has not kept up with the growing needs of people living with AD/ADRD and those at risk.
Consequently, the National Institute on Aging and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke asked the National Academies to convene an expert committee to examine and assess the current state of biomedical research and recommend research priorities to advance the prevention and treatment of AD/ADRD. Preventing and Treating Dementia outlines these research priorities and recommends strategies to overcome barriers to progress.
488 pages
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6 x 9
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paperback
ISBN Paperback: 0-309-73151-8
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-73152-6
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/28588
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2025. Preventing and Treating Dementia: Research Priorities to Accelerate Progress. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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As the largest U.S. employer, the Department of Defense (DoD) is a major provider of training and development. Given the complex and increasingly unpredictable operational landscape within which the military operates across land, sea, air, cyberspace, and space, continuous learning is vital in the military. Military learners must acquire diverse skills, from communication to using advanced technology, and retain those skills for use when necessary. Success in learning - and the ability to retain and transfer what is learned to military missions - is directly linked with military innovation, operational success, and the success of our nation.
Adult Learning in the Military Context examines motivations shaping learning, contextual and equity factors, emerging learning technologies, effective approaches to assessment, and provides a research agenda. This report highlights that adult learners are most motivated when learning aligns with personal goals but notes that military structures may limit autonomy, potentially impeding motivation. Effective learning contexts are active, interactive, and adaptable, but the use of systematic needs assessments in the military are unevenly implemented. Different stress responses and instructor support can affect learning and performance meaningfully. Technology-enabled learning has established principles that can enhance learning outcomes at scale, but a holistic systems approach is needed rather than treating each learning experience in isolation, even as new technologies like generative AI create additional opportunities. Finally, improved, unbiased assessments are essential for evaluating competencies that may be increasingly important in the future, like adaptability and creativity. The research agenda highlights key areas for researchers to prioritize.
352 pages
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paperback, prepub
ISBN Paperback: 0-309-72643-3
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-72641-7
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/27959
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2024. Adult Learning in the Military Context. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Myopia, commonly called nearsightedness, has been increasing globally. If current trends continue, there will be 5 billion near-sighted individuals globally by 2050. The understanding of myopia has been enhanced by advances in genetics, investigations employing animal models, understanding of physiology, ocular imaging, epidemiology, environmental research, and clinical trials of interventional strategies. To further develop the knowledge base related to myopia and to reduce the incidence and negative consequences of the disease, eye care professionals, federal agencies, and funding agencies need to make improvements to standardize care, increase funding to study treatments, encourage outdoor time, and overall facilitate the standardization of assessments and diagnostics. Progress in these areas is imperative to address the current increase in myopia across the country.
Myopia: Causes, Prevention, and Treatment of an Increasingly Common Disease identifies and assesses the current mechanistic understanding of myopia pathogenesis and the causes of its increased prevalence. This report also examines knowledge gaps and barriers to progress and develops a research agenda aimed at better understanding the biological and environmental factors that could explain the increasing incidence of myopia.
374 pages
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8.5 x 11
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paperback
ISBN Paperback: 0-309-71785-X
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-71786-8
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/27734
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2024. Myopia: Causes, Prevention, and Treatment of an Increasingly Common Disease. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Workshop_in_brief
In response to a request from Congress, the National Institutes of Health asked the National Academies to conduct a study to assess the current state of research on Alzheimers Disease and Related Dementias (AD/ADRD) prevention and treatment, recommend research priorities, and identify strategies for overcoming barriers that impede scientific advancement. The resulting committee held a public workshop in January 2024 to explore promising areas of research that could catalyze scientific breakthroughs or accelerate the translation of discoveries into effective prevention and treatment strategies, as well as to discuss barriers to the advancement of research. The committee final report will be released in December 2024.
13 pages
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8.5 x 11
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ISBN Ebook: 0-309-71954-2
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/27784
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2024. Preventing and Treating Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias: Promising Research and Opportunities to Accelerate Progress: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Myopia, or nearsightedness, is a common refractive error in which close objects appear clearly, but objects farther away appear blurred. Its incidence has been rising worldwide in recent decades, and, to date, attention has been largely focused on treatment and correction. In response, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine hosted a public workshop in December 2023 to discuss the rise in myopia, with particular attention toward the factors that contribute to the development and progression of myopia; strategies that may be effective in reversing the rise in myopia; technological applications to understand, diagnose, and treat myopia; current myopia screening practices, policies, and programs; and strengths and weaknesses of the current system of care especially as it relates to disparities and outcomes.
13 pages
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8.5 x 11
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ISBN Ebook: 0-309-71789-2
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/27735
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2024. The Rise in Myopia: Exploring Possible Contributors and Investigating Screening Practices, Policies, and Programs: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Workshop
Although much research has been conducted on community-level factors related to the risk of dementia in general, less is known about the factors that affect the ability of older adults with dementia to age in place successfully. Additional research could lead to a better understanding of the data and resources needed to support innovative approaches for adaptive housing, services, and supports so that people living with dementia can remain in their communities.
To explore these needs and develop effective strategies for the future, the Committee on Population and Board on Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sensory Sciences of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a virtual workshop on aging in place with dementia on September 13-15, 2023. Sponsored by the National Institute on Aging, this workshop highlighted the state of knowledge and identified research gaps to inform conceptual approaches to guide research on dementia-friendly communities in the U.S. context, building on existing approaches in the field.
134 pages
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6 x 9
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paperback
ISBN Paperback: 0-309-71372-2
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-71373-0
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/27420
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2024. Aging in Place with Dementia: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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While there is a limited data on safety-sensitive professionals, substance use disorders potentially affect pilots and flight attendants at the same rate as the general population - around 15 percent - but due to the high-risk nature of their jobs, aircraft operators are held to a higher standard for substance misuse on the job.
To protect the safety of the public and the aviation workforce, the Human Intervention Motivation Study (HIMS) and the Flight Attendant Drug and Alcohol Program (FADAP) were launched to help treat critical aviation workers - pilots and flight attendants, respectively - who misuse substances. In response to a congressional mandate, this new report reviews available evidence on the effectiveness of HIMS and FADAP and offers recommendations for improving these programs.
188 pages
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6 x 9
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paperback
ISBN Paperback: 0-309-70278-X
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-70279-8
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/27025
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Substance Misuse Programs in Commercial Aviation: Safety First. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Workshop
On May 23, 2023, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Board on Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sensory Sciences hosted a workshop titled Current Practices and Challenges for Identifying and Managing Suicide Risk Among Veterans in Non-Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Healthcare Systems to explore the landscape of veteran health care and suicide risk; consider strategies to identify veterans who receive their health care outside of the VHA; and identify best practices for suicide risk identification and care for VA-purchased care in community and at non-VA entities. This proceedings presents a summary of the presentation and discussion of the workshop.
88 pages
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6 x 9
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paperback
ISBN Paperback: 0-309-70790-0
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-70791-9
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/27195
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Identifying and Managing Veteran Suicide Risk: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Behavioral economics - a field based in collaborations among economists and psychologists - focuses on integrating a nuanced understanding of behavior into models of decision-making. Since the mid-20th century, this growing field has produced research in numerous domains and has influenced policymaking, research, and marketing. However, little has been done to assess these contributions and review evidence of their use in the policy arena.
Behavioral Economics: Policy Impact and Future Directions examines the evidence for behavioral economics and its application in six public policy domains: health, retirement benefits, climate change, social safety net benefits, climate change, education, and criminal justice. The report concludes that the principles of behavioral economics are indispensable for the design of policy and recommends integrating behavioral specialists into policy development within government units. In addition, the report calls for strengthening research methodology and identifies research priorities for building on the accomplishments of the field to date.
246 pages
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6 x 9
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paperback
ISBN Paperback: 0-309-69983-5
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-69984-3
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/26874
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Behavioral Economics: Policy Impact and Future Directions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Individuals from minoritized racial and ethnic groups continue to face systemic barriers that impede their ability to access, persist, and thrive in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) higher education and workforce. Without actively dismantling policies and practices that disadvantage people from minoritized groups, STEMM organizations stand to lose much needed talent and innovation as well as the ideas that come from having a diverse workforce.
A new report from the Board on Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sensory Sciences examines the backdrop of systemic racism in the United States that has harmed and continues to harm people from minoritized groups, which is critical for understanding the unequal representation in STEMM. The report outlines actions that top leaders and gatekeepers in STEMM organizations, such as presidents and chief executive officers, can take to foster a culture and climate of antiracism, diversity, equity, and inclusion that is genuinely accessible and supportive to all.
342 pages
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6 x 9
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paperback
ISBN Paperback: 0-309-69669-0
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-69670-4
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/26803
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Advancing Antiracism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in STEMM Organizations: Beyond Broadening Participation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Ontologies in the Behavioral Sciences: Accelerating Research and the Spread of Knowledge describes how ontologies support science and its application to real-world problems. That report details how ontologies function, how they can be engineered to better support the behavioral sciences, and the resources needed to sustain their development and use to help ensure the maximum benefit from investment in behavioral science research. The full report published in May, 2022. This digest version summarizes the primary ideas presented in that report.
48 pages
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6 x 9
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ISBN Ebook: 0-309-69520-1
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/26755
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Ontologies in the Behavioral Sciences: Accelerating Research and the Spread of Knowledge: Digest Version. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Workshop
Measuring and analyzing public opinion comes with tremendous challenges, as evidenced by recent struggles to predict election outcomes and to anticipate mass mobilizations. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine publication Measurement and Analysis of Public Opinion: An Analytic Framework presents in-depth information from experts on how to collect and glean insights from public opinion data, particularly in conditions where contextual issues call for applying caveats to those data. The Analytic Framework is designed specifically to help intelligence community analysts apply insights from the social and behavioral sciences on state-of-the-art approaches to analyze public attitudes in non- Western populations. Sponsored by the intelligence community, the National Academies' Board on Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sensory Sciences hosted a 2-day hybrid workshop on March 8-9, 2022, to present the Analytic Framework and to demonstrate its application across a series of hypothetical scenarios that might arise for an intelligence analyst tasked with summarizing public attitudes to inform a policy decision. Workshop participants explored cutting-edge methods for using large-scale data as well as cultural and ethical considerations for the collection and use of public opinion data. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions of the workshop.
86 pages
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6 x 9
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paperback
ISBN Paperback: 0-309-68801-9
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-68802-7
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/26548
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Applications of an Analytic Framework on Using Public Opinion Data for Solving Intelligence Problems: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Intelligence analysts conduct these analyses every day, using decades of propriety tradecraft techniques and an arsenal of clandestine information gathering sources, but the resources available are not unlimited. Open source public opinion tools can provide timely and relatively inexpensive methods of understanding fast-moving conditions, acting as a force multiplier to help policymakers have a truly all-source understanding of complex events. By providing analysts with the best practices in survey methodology and nonsurvey methods for gathering data on public opinion, they will be armed with a clearer sense of important shifts in attitudes, elections, and unrest.
In order to provide guidance to analysts on strategies for assessing public opinion, representatives from the intelligence community approached the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to request preparation of a framework on Measuring and Analyzing Public Opinion. This analytic framework includes three layers of information. Layer 1 comprises four authored papers that review literature from various disciplines containing overview information as well as how the topic/situation of interest can enable better analysis across different situational constraints. Layer 2 is a distilled layer of information in the form of an authored summary of the four Layer 1 papers, both summarizing and describing key points. Finally, Layer 3 provides an even further distillation of the key concepts, in a one-page visual graphic, that displays key drivers from the work in Layers 1 and 2 to help the intended audience apply knowledge to the situation of interest.
240 pages
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6 x 9
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paperback
ISBN Paperback: 0-309-27340-4
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-27341-2
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/26390
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Measurement and Analysis of Public Opinion: An Analytic Framework. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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New research in psychology, neuroscience, cognitive science, and other fields is published every day, but the gap between what is known and the capacity to act on that knowledge has never been larger. Scholars and nonscholars alike face the problem of how to organize knowledge and to integrate new observations with what is already known. Ontologies - formal, explicit specifications of the meaning of the concepts and entities that scientists study - provide a way to address these and other challenges, and thus to accelerate progress in behavioral research and its application.
Ontologies help researchers precisely define behavioral phenomena and how they relate to each other and reliably classify them. They help researchers identify the inconsistent use of definitions, labels, and measures and provide the basis for sharing knowledge across diverse approaches and methodologies. Although ontologies are an ancient idea, modern researchers rely on them to codify research terms and findings in computer-readable formats and work with large datasets and computer-based analytic techniques.
Ontologies in the Behavioral Sciences: Accelerating Research and the Spread of Knowledge describes how ontologies support science and its application to real-world problems. This report details how ontologies function, how they can be engineered to better support the behavioral sciences, and the resources needed to sustain their development and use to help ensure the maximum benefit from investment in behavioral science research.
164 pages
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6 x 9
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paperback
ISBN Paperback: 0-309-27731-0
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-27732-9
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/26464
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Ontologies in the Behavioral Sciences: Accelerating Research and the Spread of Knowledge. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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